Since the time of man’s creation, we have failed to be righteous in God’s eyes. However, God has given us a set of tools to overcome this fallible nature by giving us his Holy Spirit and the sacrifice of his only son, Jesus Christ, so that we may achieve the goal of being part of his family. Job gives us an example of overcoming failure by persevering through his trials and repenting from his sin of self-righteousness. David too failed by committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering her husband Uriah the Hittite. Yet David overcame these sins by acknowledging his sins, and turning back to God. In Christ’s time, Peter failed on a number of occasions — seeking his own will above God’s, misunderstanding the meaning of Christ washing his feet, and by denying Christ at the end of his life. Peter took each of these failures as an opportunity to learn from his mistakes and move forward with greater character than he had before. The Bible reminds us that God will not forsake us. It is our responsibility to not get discouraged by our failures, but rather, to use them as an opportunity to grow closer to God and His way of life.
Eric Rank
Hacking
The practice of hacking has connotations with computers. However, even computer hackers generally agree that the act of hacking extends beyond the keyboard. We define hacking as taking a set of established rules, interpreting them creatively, and experimenting with our action to see what happens with the new interpretation. With this understanding, hacking seems harmless. However, when we hack with God’s laws, twisting them around to interpret them for our own benefit, the result is sin deserving of death. This message describes situations of hacking with God’s laws. The Sabbath is one area which is classically muddled with, by interpreting it to be on Sunday and by expanding the boundaries of appropriate behavior. The Bible also instructs us how to worship him correctly. The Israelites coming out of Egypt hacked with this command and worshipped God in their own way. David hacked with the instructions for transporting the arc, by putting it on a cart when it was supposed to be carried. Moses also hacked with God’s instructions by bringing water from the rock in the wilderness in his own way, rather than the way that God instructed. All of these examples of hacking are examples of sinful disobedience. We must make sure to follow God’s instructions carefully, and not to intermingle them with our own corrupt interpretations and desires.